Indian graduates not job ready

Hyderabad: While about 39 per cent of the graduates from foreign universities are considered ready for the job, only about 14 per cent students from Indian universities are considered suitable for jobs.

Foreign students require lesser extensive training as per the Indian Employability Survey 2014, conducted by the British Council. The study also revealed that 51 per cent of companies hire only from the top 20 Indian institutions and less than a quarter of these firms hire only from the top 10 in any discipline.

“Foreign-degree holders appear to be more disposed towards strong technical skills, critical thinking, the ability to use knowledge to solve real-world problems, whereas Indian graduates are relatively stronger on the soft skills side, such as working with diverse groups and interpersonal skills.

The ability or willingness to work hard is an additional area of strength for graduates from India. While the US leads the way on almost every major skill, the UK is a clear second in terms of communication and interpersonal skills and Germany comes a close second along with the UK in most other arenas,” said Rob Lynes, director, British Council India.

The study also said that about 41.6 per cent of firms rank American universities as either their top or their second choice, while 25.8 per cent rank UK as their second choice. Germany stands third with 6.9 per cent firms ranking it as one of their top two choices. India comes at number 13.

The report stated, “A very-substantial 41 per cent of all companies have hired at least one foreign university graduate in the last two years. And going by sector-wise distribution, 60 per cent of consumer goods firms, 52.2 per cent of services firms, 50 per cent of infrastructure, telecom and energy firms are the most likely to have hired at least one candidate with a foreign degree, whereas 34.5 per cent of industrial firms and 35.7 per cent of IT companies are the least likely to have done so, though their overall percentages are still quite high.”

The survey covered about 200 foreign and Indian companies to ascertain the attractiveness of Indian and foreign university graduates as employers on various parameters such as skills, quality of talent pool, among others.

The research captures the hiring trends, defining factors for recruitment of foreign university graduates, preferred source countries, qualifications and disciplines of study. This report probes the quality of talent pools expected by Indian industry in the next 3-5 years.

The British Council commissioned business research firm IMA India to conduct the survey. Speaking on the occasion, Rob Lynes, Director, British Council India, said, “This survey provides insights into the emerging employability trends that will help universities prepare graduates for opportunities in an increasingly globalised world.”